Angels and Demons
by Anonymous Character
Summary: HAITUS
1. Prologue

Nothing hurts more than falling. One would think that the landing would be worse, but they would be wrong. When there is no end to the falling, there is no pain from landing. Only the black emptiness that swirls around and overtakes you as if you didn't exist. Which, come to think of it, I don't. Not anymore. My name is... _was_ Isabella Swan, and I am now, and forevermore, the very essence of Shadow.


	2. Grievances

_**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT OR ANY FAMILIAR CHARACTERS.**_

Grievances

"Karen!" I looked up from my drawing. A woman was standing in the middle of the street, franticly screaming the name. She was wild-eyed and looked like she was about to have a stroke. I sighed.

"Ma'am?" I called. She turned to me, shocked, as if she hadn't known I was there. She probably hadn't. "Are you looking for someone?" She nodded, tears streaming down her face.

"M-my daughter," she stuttered, "She's been missing since this m-morning!" The woman broke down in sobs. I shook my head and stood up.

"Don't worry ma'am, I'll help you find her. What does she look like?" I asked, though I already knew. I'd seen her running around with her friend quite often. The woman tried to quiet her sobbing.

"S-she's got light b-brown hair and she's about f-five two," she said between shuddering breaths. I smiled.

"Okay, calm down, I'll go look for her. You should get back home and fix yourself something hot to drink." She nodded again and pointed to a rather small brown-bricked house down the road.

"That's w-where we live. Thank you so much." I nodded, still smiling. I waited until she was back inside before I sunk back into the shadows. There was so much information to sort through that the setting sun was well below the horizon when I found Karen.

I heard screaming, and I pushed myself back into reality. She was in a very dark side street, but she wasn't alone. She was surrounded by three people, a woman and two men, who seemed to be trying to scare her.

"Now, now, little girl. I promise this won't hurt for very long," the woman said. One of the men laughed. I could feel a snarl rising in my throat, and I stepped into the light. All four of them turned, the three adults glaring at me. I smirked.

"Having fun, leeches?" I called as sweetly as I could make myself sound. It was met by varying tones of snarls. I frowned, pretending to pout. "You're not very nice. Now, down to business. Hand over the girl and no one gets hurt." My demeanor turned serious as I spoke. They didn't budge. I sighed, and prepared to meld.

_Guess it's got to be the hard way..._ I said through the shadow. The leeches were glancing around nervously, trying to see me. I came up behind the woman and snapped her neck. She was immediately engulfed in a black, almost fire like void of shadows. The others whipped around, but it was already too late for her.

_One more time, give me the girl... _The two remaining slunk into crouches, still looking for me. I took this as my chance to grab Karen, and pulled her into the darkness with me. She screamed, or tried to, the noise was completely contained in my realm of solitude. In an instant we were outside her front door, and I had covered her mouth.

"Shh, it's okay, you're safe now," I murmured soothingly, letting her go. She quieted in a second and turned around, but I was already gone, in the darkness watching her. She bit her lip and went inside, where I assume her mother brokedown in tears and nearly choked the poor girl to death in an extremely tight hug.

My domain was much simpler than the mortal realms, free of physical pain, but it wasn't comforting at all. It had been more than an eternity since my fall from grace, and I was still as alone as ever. No other creature could travel the shadows without my assistance, not even the Creator Itself. I was _special_. Specially cursed.

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE**_

If it sucks, don't be afraid to say so. And don't worry, Edward WILL be in this, as will the other Cullens, except Renesmee, cause this is an AU of _twilight._


	3. Hunting Shadows

_**DISCLAIMER: I am not Stephenie Meyer.**_

Hunting Shadows – Edward Cullen

_Nomads? Here?_

_If they try anything they're dead._

_Edward, can you hear anything yet?_

The thoughts of my family drifted up to me in my bedroom. I sighed, listening for the 'voices' of the nomads. They were coming closer, only half a mile away now. I could hear fear in their thoughts, and I focused on the reason.

_Is she gone? What if she followed us? Poor Victoria, nothing but ashes left. How did that demon do it? All she did was touch her!_

I blocked my mind as images of the fallen vampire filled their heads. They were coming for help, trying to find this so-called 'demon'. I have to admit, it seemed an apt description, but I couldn't make myself feel sorry for Victoria. She was planning on killing a child, an innocent, helpless little girl.

Flowing downstairs at vampire speeds, I pondered what the unnamed demon might want with the little girl. I shuddered as I realized she might have been better off with the nomads. Carlisle was waiting for me when I appeared in the family room.

"Well?" he asked politely, hiding his impatience in a practiced manner. I nodded.

"They're coming fast. They want us to help them track something. One of their number was killed by it," I replied with certainty. All of my adoptive family were by his side in n instant.

"What do you mean by 'something?'" asked Esme. My gaze became unfocused as I tried to put into words exactly what I saw.

"It – it was a woman, but she wasn't a human," I began, struggling.

_A vampire, then? _Alice thought. I shook my head.

"She melted into the shadows like she wasn't solid. All she did was lay a hand on a female named Victoria and..." I paused, trying to describe what happened. "Victoria burst into black flames; she was destroyed in seconds."

Six figures stood before me at that moment, their minds empty but for the shock that they shared. And then they were pulled out of their spell by the scent of others of our kind fast coming to our door. Alice jumped to open it, greeting the stunned nomads by name and ushering them inside.

Jasper sent out a wave of calm as their fear hit him. Carlisle motioned for them to sit down. They nervously obliged, casting uncertain glances around the room.

"My name is Carlisle Cullen. This is my wife, Esme, and my children, Alice, Edward, Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie. What brings you to Forks?" Carlisle gestured to each of us in turn as he introduced us.

"I – I see you already know who we are, but for formalities sake, my name is James, and this is Laurent. We, well, we've come to ask for your help," said one of them, clearly the leader. I didn't need to read his mind to know that he was terrified, but he was more afraid of being followed than of us. It was Alice who answered his unspoken questions.

"She's not a demon, not at all..." she said, her eyes glazed over in a vision. I listened to what she saw, amazed.

_We are in a bright place, surrounded by figures. "No, please... Daddy, please don't do this," sobs a girl in the center of the crowd. The figures have created a circle around her and a man, the one she is talking to. The man glares down at her._

_"Isabella Swan, you have been found guilty of high treason against the Creator, on the grounds of manipulating the Shadow. You are hereby banished to the Darkness, you may roam the Secondary Realms as you please. You will be stripped of your wings, and of your rank. Have you any last words?" __he says to her. She changes suddenly before our eyes, from a helpless, broken creature into a fierce woman, looming and menacing. _

_"You blame me for what I cannot change, your own daughter! Have you no shame, Charles?" she growls at him. He shrinks back slightly, betraying his fear for a moment. Then his face hardens and he stands tall._

_"I have no daughter," he says._

_"Then I pray for you," she whispers, so that only he can hear. Then she says louder, for the rest of the figures, "May Lucifer have mercy on you, for he is whom you shall answer to for this deed." And then she leans backwards, and falls into the abyss below. _


	4. Meeting

_**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING.**_

Meeting

So they were coming for me. Wonderful. This would be interesting, considering I had never fought vampires before the she-leech, Victoria. I don't know why I sent the Alice girl the vision, but I was extremely pleased to see them so horrified. Especially the one named Edward. His face was priceless! Not that they had realized I was there. Still was there. Same difference.

The Olympic coven was just about to come looking for me, though I had no idea how they planned to destroy me if they were to somehow manage to find me. I was eternal, unlike them who were simply immortal. Two very different things.

I followed them out the door, staying in the Shadow so as not to be seen. Or heard, in Edward's case. Edward didn't seem to hunt with the same fervor as his brethren, walking slowly at a human pace, and just seeming bored. He seemed more docile than the others, so I followed him, leaving his family and the fallen Victoria's coven alone. He didn't notice, of course.

I didn't like that very much, for some reason. So I did the stupidest thing imaginable, considering his family were conspiring to kill me – I showed myself to him.

"Hello," I said. He stared at me, wide-eyed. He was afraid, I think. I sighed, even though this was the reaction I was expecting, it hurts to know that you're feared.

"It's polite to respond when spoken to, you know," I hedged. Edward blinked, then looked as if he would call out. I quickly melded behind him, holding a Dark blade to his throat.

"I wouldn't if I were you." He closed his mouth, but smirked, obviously thinking that my blade couldn't hurt him. I pressed it into his marble flesh, just to prove him wrong. He hissed in pain, and I released him.

"What is that thing made of?" he asked, rubbing his wound. I smiled, happy that he finally found his tongue.

"The same thing that I am made of, which is none of your business," I replied. He took a step back, but curiosity urged him not to run.

"Why did you kill Victoria?" He demanded. My smile was beginning to fade.

"I didn't. She is still very much alive, unfortunately."

"But they saw her die!"

"They saw her disappear in a burst of black flames. There aren't even any ashes to prove that she burned. How can they claim she is dead when they could not have seen me?" I was angry now, angry enough to possibly actually become a murderer.

"Then where is she? And what about the girl?" Edward seemed just as furious as I.

"Karen is back with her mother," I replied stiffly, "And if you want to know about the she-leech, then call your friends back." He obliged, of course, happy to be surrounded by what he considered protection, and which I considered useless. No one could stop me if I wanted to kill them.

Moments later all nine leeches were surrounding me, and I was vaguely reminded of my trial… I stopped that thought in its tracks.

"Well? You said Victoria isn't dead," Edward said. I nodded. "So where is she?"

"Watch." I closed my eyes, and the shadows danced in the form of flames before me. I imagined the demon, forming her out of Nothingness, just as I had destroyed her body. Then I made her breathe, letting the Shadow go. My eyes opened of their own accord, and Victoria emerged from the Darkness, only to slink into a crouch and snarl at me.

"Do you really want to go back to that place?" I asked her softly, threateningly. She whimpered, standing up and backing away. "I didn't think so."

"Victoria!" The ones called Laurent and James broke ranks to greet their friends. I smiled, and turned to leave, passing by the bear, Emmet, and the pixie, Alice. They both flinched back, wiping away my moment of happiness. Alice silently followed me away from the group, down a back alley. She thought I didn't know she was there, and was attempting to spy on me.

"Alice, what do you want?" I asked without turning around. She danced into my view, graceful even for a leech, a suspicious look in her eyes.

"What are you?" she demanded quietly, her voice like bells. I frowned.

"Nothing important."

"You're lying," she said.

"Am I?"

"Yes!" she insisted with childlike stubbornness.

"Then please allow me to rephrase. I am all that is unimportant. Every bit of it, from the beginning of time until now, and more." And then I melded into the shadows, watching her as I had Karen. She looked confused, and I had to admit that I was not intending to make sense.

_You must stop trying to understand, little one. I am not worth the effort… _I said from the shadows. Alice jumped, but didn't look convinced as she ran back to her family. I followed, seeing as I had nothing better to do.

Edward was looking at Alice sympathetically, as was the one known as Jasper, who wrapped his arm around her waist.

"…didn't hurt you did she?" James was asking Victoria. She shook her head, but didn't say anything.

"Then we have no reason to find her, correct?" asked Carlisle. James looked at Victoria, and I decided I didn't want to have anymore inconveniences. I made her shake her head, forced her to smile. Edward, who was reading her mind, was the only one who noticed it was not what she wanted to say, and glanced around quickly before walking off.

"Then I suggest you three leave before anyone notices the population dwindling," Carlisle said, politely but forcefully. James reluctantly nodded, and he and his two friends raced away.

That was all I needed to know, and I thankfully sank into my black oblivion. I wouldn't be bothered anymore, I hoped, and so I ignored the world for awhile.

_**Author's Note: Sorry it took so long, but my computer broke down, and I haven't had the opportunity to use someone else's. **_


	5. Demon Rising

**_DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING! DO NOT SUE ME!_**

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Dæmon Rising

– Edward Cullen

So she was nothing, was she? That which was unimportant, yet could destroy and recreate an animate being. Of course, that made perfect sense! Not. Alice was just as confused as I, and it was to she that the memory had been sent. I could not think of it as a vision, if only for the fact that Isabella had joined with the shadows when we saw her.

I knew something was wrong when Victoria told us it was unnecessary to find her captor. She had been thinking that we should track her down and dispose of her, but something, presumably Isabella, had taken control of her voice. She hadn't fought the control, however; rather, she was terrified of disobeying the command. She was afraid of wherever she had been, the feeling of loneliness she felt, surrounded by darkness.

What was this creature? Alice had said she wasn't a demon, but I was doubting my sister's thoughts, as she was. She had, after all, followed Isabella, until she was nowhere to be found. And the blade that had pierced my skin, what could it have possibly been made of? Vampire teeth? It certainly stung like venom, but that was absurd. Where could one find a supply of vampire venom, no matter what manner of creature it was?

_Edward?_

"Yes, Alice?"

_You couldn't hear her thoughts, could you?_

I hesitated before shaking my head. Alice didn't respond, but she started translating the German anthem for the Alsace Lorraine flag into English. She was hiding something.

Three weeks passed, and there was no more news of Isabella, or of the nomads James, Laurent, and Victoria. The rest of my family had long since forgotten about all of it, but I couldn't seem to rid myself of Isabella's expression when Emmett and Alice shied away from her. She almost looked... hurt, as if she didn't like being feared by them. And that girl, Karen, she said, was she really back with her mother? Suddenly an idea struck me, more of an urge, really. I needed to know if Karen was truly safe at home, or if Isabella had somehow hurt her, or kidnapped her as she had Victoria.

I checked the police records of the vicinity, and sure enough, their was a report of a failed kidnapping, of a little girl named Karen Lansky. She had been 'hysterical' when she returned home, but local officers were able to discern that three adults had taken her, two men and a woman. Other than that, all the girl would say was that she was saved by an 'angel,' whom she described as a female with black hair, dark eyes, and wearing a long black dress. There was no name, no other information that Karen would share. Neither the kidnappers nor the mysterious savior had thus been located. So Isabella had spoken truth. But I still had to see it for myself, talk to the girl. Maybe she, like most children, was observant enough to have noticed something important about her 'angel.'

Standing outside her house later on that night, I could easily see that the family was not home. From a window I noticed boxes, piled on top of each other. The family was moving.

"I assure you, they are unharmed."

I whirled around, metaphorical hackles raised. I hadn't heard her coming, or caught her scent. Yet there she stood, directly behind me, looking for all the world as if I'd struck her. Then she gave me a sad, half-hearted smile, and stepped past me to the window. She made a motion with her hand, and then a little leather-bound book appeared, resting in her palm. This she offered to me, and as if by magic, it opened to the last entry, promptly dated three weeks ago. The day Karen had disappeared. Her diary. I looked back at Isabella, and her eyes portrayed a morbid sense of expectancy. I read the passage, curiously, yet with a growing suspicion of what I would find.

_Dear Diary,_

_Mama wouldn't listen to what happened. She heard I got kidnapped and shut out all the rest. So I have to put it here. The mean people grabbed me when I was walking home from Jacky's. They said that if I screamed, they'd hurt me. Then they took me to a dark street, where no one else was around, and the lady told me that they were going to kill me, and that it would hurt really bad. Then the angel came, and she told them to let me go, but they wouldn't. She disappeared, but she was still talking, and then the mean lady got all burnt up by black fire, and then the angel had a hold of me. I was afraid, because I couldn't see anything, and I screamed, but nothing came out. And then I was on my front porch, looking around for the angel. When I went inside, Mama started crying, and tucked me in, and then I wrote this. So, now somebody knows, and a diary won't tell me I was making things up. _

_Yours forever,_

_Karen_

"Like I said, she is perfectly fine. In fact, she thinks her mother is overreacting. She's sad to move away."

I almost jumped as the diary flew closed, then disappeared.

"What are you?"

She sighed, that sad look in her eye expanding to shape her expression.

"I am not important, as I told Alice."

"Then why did you send Alice the memory?" I surprised myself by saying. I hadn't thought of the possibility before, but it had an air of truth to it. Isabella bit her lip and glanced to the side, apparently ashamed of her reasoning.

"That was selfish of me. I apologize. I just... I mean.... No one remembers me anymore. And... well... Alice wanted to know. So I showed her. I'm sorry." She looked so lost then, so sad. Like she was begging for forgiveness, and no one would give it to her. And despite this, or perhaps because of it, she was... beautiful.

"It isn't me who needs an apology. It's Alice. You should speak to her, and properly introduce yourself to the others."

I watched her as she debated, a genuine smile slowly forming on her lips. She nodded finally, and looked me in the eyes.

"Would you like to see how _I _travel?" She asked, leaving open the option to decline. I returned her smile, and she held out her hand for me to take. Then we were soaring through blackness, and not moving at all at the same time. It was the most amazing experience I'd ever had, in all my immortal years. After what seemed like hours, but could just as easily been seconds, or centuries, for all I knew, we were standing outside my family's home in the forest. I could hear Alice rushing to the door, and Isabella took a deep, calming breath. Then she flashed me a brilliant smile, taking mine away.

"Ready?"

She nodded.

"Looks like I have to be, because the cavalry has arrived."

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**_Bella took his BREATH away, not his smile. So... anyways.... Mwa haha! I'm back from the dead! Well, my internet access is, anyway. Read and review, s'il vous plait!_**


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